The scheme will support more than 400,000 Australians with a disability, their families and carers

It will help pay for carers, to give parents of children with a disability a break

It will help pay for new wheelchairs tailored to individual needs

It will fund home modifications to help people with a disability move around easier

It will fund early intervention services children, like physiotherapy and speech pathology

The increase to the Medicare levy equates to an extra dollar a day for an average income earner

The change would collect $20 billion in its first five years

The Productivity Commission predicts it will cost $15 billion a year when fully operational but there are suggestions by the Centre for Independent Studies it could be as high as $22 billion.

The system will benefit 460,000 Australians with disabilities, and for the first time they will be given funding directly to cater to their individual needs.

Responsibility will be shifted from the states and territories to a national body.

The scheme will exclude those aged 65 and over.

What aspects do the major parties agree on?

Legislation for the NDIS/DisabilityCare passed the Parliament on the last sitting week before the Budget with support from all Parliamentary parties.

Trials will commence in South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria in July 2013.

A trial in the ACT will begin in July 2014.

The Government committed a $1 billion over four years in the 2012/13 budget for the trial sites around the country.

On the day the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the election, Western Australia became the last state to sign up to DisabilityCare.

The WA deal is unique because one pilot project will be based on the NDIS model and the second will be a continuation of the existing state model known as My Way.

The Medicare levy will increase by 0.5 of a percentage point to 2 per cent, to raise $3.3 billion a year. This will raise $20.4 billion between 2014/15 and 2018/19. The funds would be placed in a fund and would cover about 40 per cent of total costs. The states and territories will be allocated $9.7 billion over 10 years to help pay for the scheme.

What are the key differences between the major parties?

The Coalition wants a joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by both sides of politics to oversee the implementation of the NDIS, to ensure bipartisanship into the future. It did not succeed in amending the legislation but would implement the policy if elected.

In December 2012, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said the timing of the scheme's rollout could depend upon the health of the federal budget after the election.

The Greens attempted to have the legislation amended to people aged 65 and over, but they failed. A person must be under 65 when an access request is made.

The Greens did secure support in the Senate for an amendment for the NDIS agency to do advocacy work in areas broader than the scheme.

What we know

ALP

Succeeded in having NDIS legislation pass the Parliament.

Committed $1 billion to the trial sites

Now refers to the NDIS as Disability Care Australia

Will raise $3.3b a year to help pay for the scheme via increased Medicare levy

Committed an additional $14.3 billion over seven years to roll-out phase.

Coalition

Supports NDIS in its entirety

Will introduce a Joint Parliamentary Committee to oversee implementation of the scheme if elected in September

Supported the Medicare increase in the Parliament.

Is committed to fully funding and rolling out the scheme.

Greens

Want the scheme to apply to those aged 65 and over.

Succeeded in amending the legislation so the NDIS agency can do advocacy work beyond the scheme itself.

Are likely to support an increased Medicare levy but are yet to officially declare hand

What don't we know about the major parties' policies?

The Medicare levy increase easily passed the federal Parliament with bipartisan support. DisabilityCare and its full funding are supported by Labor and the Coalition.

NB: The current disability support pension costs around $7 billion a year - less than half predicted costs of the NDIS.

All states and territories, except for Western Australia, have signed deals with the Government to fully implement the scheme from 2018.

The Federal Opposition seizes on reports some disability service providers have gone without payments under the NDIS, suggesting the Government is dragging its feet and being secretive about a review into the problem.